2023 Food Garden!

My neighbor has an apricot tree but I don’t know the variety. She only gets a good crop every few years. Apricots seem to have such a short season that it is hard to get good ones. I agree. With some exceptions, the store-bought and farmer market are not the same. My neighbors are small because she does not water them. They are full all kinds of problems because she does not spray them. I am always happy to be handed the big bag full of them. Apricot/Cherry crisp is one of my favorite summertime desserts.

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My first apricot tree was a Blenheim. The first year all the cots were huge, like tennis ball size and so meaty. There were not many so we ate them fresh off the tree. Subsequent years were drought years and I did my best with watering with grey water, but the tree never produced like it did the first year. The MIL lived nearby and had a divine white peach tree. The peaches were heavy and would bring down the branches like crazy. Unfortunately the peaches were picked off frequently by the squirrels before they were approaching ripeness.

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My white peach tree is full this year. I just noticed and wish I had thought to water it. The fruit is tiny now. I think its too late. I know people with peach trees that have the squirrel problem. I have lots of squirrels but they never touch anything I grow. I think it is because I have enough things growing wild like hazelnuts and I think black walnuts that they must like better. They do make a mess in the garden hiding nuts everywhere.

I wonder if they sit there thinking, “I wish she would water the peach tree, then they would be worth eating.”

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Yum!!! It look delicious!

Do you prune the curry leaf at all? We’ve had one for a few years that we bring inside for the New England winter; it survives but drops most of its leaves and starts growing from the top. So, it’s now quite tall with a long bare stem and leaves just at the very top. I’d love to know how to keep it from getting taller and taller like this.

A year or two ago I had the same problem. It was basically an umbrella. I cut the main stem a lot shorter and it has branched out a lot. It loses a lot of leaves in winter here too. Am pretty sure I posted a picture here. Will have a look. First picture is when I chopped it and second is what came back.


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Thank you! I’ve always been scared that, if I chop off all the parts with leaves, the plant will just die. Good to know this isn’t the case!

Would anyone know what’s growing here? I though I planted bell peppers but my friend told me she is sure it isn’t… :confused:

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Google Lens seems to think it’s common verbena.

Can you get a close up of the flowers and a closeup of the he foliage?

Thank you, thats interesting.
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Changing my answer! Based on the picture of the flower, Google lens now says Lepidium Sativum, or “Garden Cress”.

Or maybe
Field pepperweed (Lepidium campestre)

I wonder if it got there as a random seed where you were intending to grow something else (aka a weed).

That’s fascinating. Thank you!! Is it ready to eat now?
I’m recalling that the bell peppers seeds were out of date, maybe that could be the answer?

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I don’t think so, but @bogman will know.

Thanks a lot for your time. Much appreciated!

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It looks like Lepidium campestre, Field Pepperweed to me. If so, it’s far beyond the edible leaf stage. The unripe, green pods are peppery, sort of like horseradish taste, as do mature seed pods. If the leaves on the flower stalks are shaped sort of like a spear point, and the lower, basal leaves are “ferny”, L. campestre is most likely. The basal, lower leaves may have disappeared by this stage.

Lepidiums seed like crazy, so if its seed pods shatter, it’ll be all over the place.

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Wow! Thanks a lot for all the info :+1:

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I had an apricot tree at our last house. Every year it bloomed and set a million fruit, not a single one of which ever made it even close to ripe. I planted it before I knew about chill hour requirements and had bought it at Target. I love apricots, and haven’t had a good one from the store in decades. Is Blenheim a good variety for low chill hour locations? You’ve said that our climates tend to be similar.

I don’t know if it’s described that way, but when this area was mostly orchards it was very popular. I think a late frost at the wrong time can be a problem. Of course most of the orchards have since been replaced with houses, they are hard to ship, and are said to be best eaten soon after picking, so of course I had to have one! :grin:
I grow mine in a very large container which I think it’s outgrown, so I don’t know how much longer it will last.

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June!

DH’s strawberry project, about which I posted earlier, paid off in spades. We tried thinning the berries this year - cutting off small and deformed berries early - with good results. The elevated containers meant didn’t have to break our backs to bend over and pick. Win-win!

Our lettuce is done, but we’re still getting peas, scallions, kale and broccolini. In the not-to-distant future are carrots, cukes, zuccs and blueberries. The tomatoes are setting, but have a long way to go.

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Those are beautiful @MunchkinRedux !

I was more “intentional” about my grape pruning, and I may get more than one bunch! I’m sure the rain and the cool spring helped too.

More tomatoes. I love how striped tomatoes look before they are ripe.



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